Enigmatic duo Susan Calman and Kevin Clifton's dance dream was ended tonight as the comedian became the ninth celebrity to be voted off Strictly Come Dancing.

Fresh from Blackpool, the couple danced the American Smooth to Beyond the Sea by Bobby Darin in week 10 of the popular dance show.

They also joined the other couples in a Paso Doble-thon.

The judges scored them a total of 21 for their American Smooth but placed them last in the Paso Doble-thon.

These scores were combined with the results of the viewers' votes to decide the two couples facing the dance off. This weekend, it was Alexandra Burke and her partner Gorka Marquez; and Susan and Kevin.

Both couples performed their routines again, Alexandra and Gorka did their Rumba to Halo by Beyonce and Susan and Kevin performed their American Smooth in a bid to impress the judges and remain in the competition.

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She said: "The couple I would like to save just for their artistry and technical ability is Alexandra and Gorka."

Bruno Tonioli chose to save Alexandra and Gorka.

He said: "Well first I really enjoyed them both but for different reasons. I have to say the best dancers in the dance-off were Alexandra and Gorka."

Head Judge Shirley Ballas agreed with her fellow judges and said she too would have saved Alexandra and Gorka.

When asked by Tess if she had enjoyed her time on the show, Susan said: "I have loved every minute of it. Everyone from wardrobe, make-up, the runners, you and lovely Claudia, Zoe on It Takes Two, the beautiful judges who have brought such light into my life every single week, everyone involved in the show, the audience, everyone who voted for us, we got far further than we thought we would.

"To my friends and my family and my lovely wife who’s here every single week supporting me. Most of all, I've made a friend for life and Kevin may not have won the Glitterball this year but he’s won Strictly for me."

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Kevin added: "I’d like to say a couple of thank yous actually; when Strictly is on I’m not the easiest person to live with, I go a bit mad so I’d like to say first of all thanks to my wife for putting up with me. I’d like to say thank you to Strictly Come Dancing and echoing everything that Susan said about everyone on it because I think in a world where not everything going on at the moment is always nice, Strictly is the one thing that brings a lot of joy and happiness into the world through the wonderful thing that is dance.

"And I think Susan you've been the absolute epitome of joy and happiness throughout this whole competition which in my eyes makes you a beautiful dancer. So thank you for dancing with me and thanks for being my friend."

Kevin's dad Keith said the couple wanted to "leave on a high" and they did.

"It has been expected for a long while since he has been at the bottom of the leaderboard. It is disappointing from a family point of view but from a dance teacher's point of view, it was probably the right decision.

"It is a remarkable achievement for both of them. There has been some really nice people getting behind her," he said.

Keith, of Clifton's Dance Academy, said it was difficult to predict who will win as it is the public vote that decides in the final.

But he said from a "technical point of view", Debbie or Alexandra would take it.

Keith said Kevin has got the professional numbers left to do and will then start to think about projects but added that he will want to rest.

"Hopefully we might be able to see him in a more relaxed manner. Maybe up here for a day," he said.

Keith said the couple wouldn't have wanted the public to turn on them.

"If they would have stayed longer, a lot of people would have said it is time to go. The public might start to turn. They wanted to go out on a high which they have done," he added.

Tonight's results show also featured a musical performance from Kelly Clarkson.

The remaining six couples will take to the dancefloor again next week when Borehamwood meets Broadway and Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One for Musicals Week.